Universal and TCM's Partnership For Made-To-Order DVD

I just received the following via e-mail from TCM. It looks like Universal is going the full Archive route for classic DVD titles as did Warners this past year. Note the Cary Grant features mentioned and forthcoming groups including more Deanna Durbins ...

[SIZE= 10pt]Digitally Remastered Titles Never Available Before on DVD to Include Extensive Features from TCM Archives [/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10pt]New Titles Available Each Quarter, Including Five Memorable Horror Titles, [/SIZE][SIZE= 10pt]Three Early Cary Grant Vehicles and a Timeless Holiday Classic[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10pt]TCM to Present Special Telecasts of the Films[/SIZE]

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and Universal Studios Home Entertainment (USHE) have entered into an extensive new partnership to offer classic movie fans rare vintage films, all digitally remastered, on DVD on a made-to-order basis. The TCM Vault Collection Presented by Universal marks USHE’s first foray into the manufactured-on-demand (MOD) arena. TCM began offering MOD featuring lost titles from the RKO library.

TCM and USHE are working to remaster a number of great titles never before available on DVD, with several never available on home video at all. The first titles made available include five chilling horror films, three early Cary Grant pictures and the unsung 1940 holiday classic Rememberthe Night, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray and scripted by the great Preston Sturges. The films will be made available by request on DVD via TCM.com for the first time during the fourth quarter of 2009. TCM host Robert Osborne will provide introductions for selected titles, which will also include supplemental materials compiled by TCM and extensive material from the TCM archives. In addition, TCM will present exclusive premieres of the movies over the next six months.

“Many terrific films have been unavailable on home video for far too long, especially the holiday classic Remember the Night,” Osborne said. “It’s wonderful that today’s movie fans will be able to enjoy these rare movies. TCM and Universal have worked hard to restore them digitally and provide historical context, bonus content and behind-the-scenes information, something DVD collectors are sure to appreicate. I’m proud to be part of this great project with TCM and Universal.”

For Universal, the agreement is a great way to reach avid film fans. “Universal is very proud of its prestigious collection of Hollywood screen gems,” said Craig Kornblau, president, Universal Studios Home Entertainment. “Like us, TCM is deeply dedicated to honoring Hollywood’s golden age. This collaboration presents the perfect opportunity to share Universal’s rich cinematic legacy and celebrate vintage works with classic film fans.”

The launch of TCM/Universal DVDs will be divided into three initial releases:[SIZE= 10pt]Universal Cult Horror Collection (films also available as singles )[/SIZE][SIZE= 10pt]DVD[/SIZE][SIZE= 10pt] Availability: Oct. 31[/SIZE][SIZE= 10pt]TCM[/SIZE][SIZE= 10pt] Premiere of Murders in the Zoo: Oct. 31[/SIZE][SIZE= 10pt]Suggested Retail Price: Collection - $49.99; Individual Titles - $19.99[/SIZE][SIZE= 10pt]This collection will include five rarely seen horror gems from the Universal vault, most appearing on home video for the first time. Special features include over a hundred photos, posters and lobby cards, trivia, articles and more.[/SIZE]Murders in the Zoo[SIZE= 10pt] (1933) – Censors had a heyday with this horror film about a zoologist and sportsman who uses his zoo animals to kill his wife’s lovers. Lionel Atwill plays the villain, with Kathleen Burke as his wife, a young Randolph Scott as the hero and the ever lovable Charles Ruggles providing comic relief as the zoo’s press agent. Among the men playing Burke’s doomed lovers is John Lodge, who later left acting to enter politics, becoming governor of Vermont.[/SIZE]Mad Doctor of Market Street[SIZE= 10pt] (1942) – Lionel Atwill plays a mad scientist who places people into suspended animation and then revives them. When he is accused of murder following the death of one of his subjects, he flees on a ship, becomes stranded on a tropical island and soon becomes revered as a god by the natives. Una Merkel, Nat Pendleton and Claire Dodd co-star.[/SIZE]The Strange Case of Dr. RX[SIZE= 10pt] (1942) – A mysterious killer bumps off acquitted murderers who have all been represented by the same laywer, played by Samuel S. Hinds. Lionel Atwill, Patric Knowles and Anne Gwynne co-star, with Shemp Howard (on hiatus from his work with The Three Stooges) providing comic relief.[/SIZE]The Mad Ghoul[SIZE= 10pt] (1943) – This creepy tale follows a mad professor, played by George Zucco, who has discovered an ancient Egyptian gas that turns anyone who sniffs it into a heart-eating zombie. David Bruce plays the doctor’s assistant who gets dosed with the gas and goes on a murderous rampage. Evelyn Ankers and Robert Armstrong co-star.[/SIZE]House of Horrors[SIZE= 10pt] (1946) – The legendary Rondo Hatton, whose acromegaly deformed his face and made him a frequent Hollywood villain, marked one of his last roles with this offbeat film. Martin Kosleck plays a mad artist who, after saving Hatton and making a bust of his face, uses the disfigured hulk to murder art critics. Hatton died of a heart attack the year this film was released.[/SIZE]

Remember the Night[SIZE= 10pt] (1940)[/SIZE][SIZE= 10pt]DVD[/SIZE][SIZE= 10pt] Availability: Nov. 22[/SIZE][SIZE= 10pt]TCM[/SIZE][SIZE= 10pt] Telecasts: Dec. 6 and Dec. 24[/SIZE][SIZE= 10pt]Suggested Retail Price: $19.99[/SIZE]This heart-warming holiday romance – penned by Preston Sturges – marked the first of four on-screen pairings of Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck and came four years before their iconic work in Double Indemnity. MacMurray plays a prosecutor who finds himself falling in love with a shoplifter (Stanwyck) during a court recess at Christmas time. The atmospheric film co-stars Beulah Bondi, Elizabeth Patterson and Sterling Holloway and was directed by Mitchell Leisen.

Remember the Night is rarely seen and received a brief home-video release on VHS. It is being now remastered and brought back to life so it can take its rightful place as a signature holiday classic. Special features on the DVD will include an introduction by Robert Osborne; still galleries, including behind-the-scenes photos; never-before-seen interview segments on the work of director Mitchell Leisen from the TCM Archives; and the original movie trailer, trivia, biographies and more.

[SIZE= 10pt]Cary[/SIZE][SIZE= 10pt] Grant Collection (films also available as singles)[/SIZE][SIZE= 10pt]DVD[/SIZE][SIZE= 10pt] Availability: January 2010[/SIZE][SIZE= 10pt]Three early Cary Grant films will populate this boxed set:[/SIZE]The Eagle and the Hawk[SIZE= 10pt] (1933) – This vivid World War I drama stars Frederic March as a disillusioned but fearless squadron leader and Cary Grant as his bullied gunner-observer. The gripping interpersonal drama, anti-war sentiments and outstanding aerial dogfights give this film an impact that remains vital today. Carole Lombard and Jack Oakie round out a top-notch cast. The great directorMitchell Leisen, who is billed as associate director, is believed to have directed most of this film.[/SIZE]The Devil and the Deep[SIZE= 10pt] (1932) – This melodrama is headlined by Tallulah Bankhead, Gary Cooper, Cary Grant and Charles Laughton. The setting is the northern coast of Africa, where submarine commander Laughton is stationed and where his wife, Bankhead, is splitting her time between suitors Cooper and Grant. This marked Laughton’s first American film and one of his most underappreciated performances.[/SIZE]The Last Outpost[SIZE= 10pt] (1935) – Cary Grant plays a British officer saved from a Kurdish tribe by fellow officer Claude Rains. But when Grant unknowingly falls in love with Rains’ wife, tragedy looms. Gertrude Michael and Kathleen Burke co-star under the dual direction of Charles Barton and Louis Gasnier.[/SIZE]

Future Universal collections and titles for rollout on DVD and TCM include vintage films from Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert, Deanna Durbin, director Douglas Sirk and many more.

It really is starting to look like the end of the line. While I might be able to get past the cheap manufacturing process, the stranglehold they're going to have on retail pricing is going to kill what little is left of this market.

Curios to see, whether their ongoing Backlot Series will be continued or stopped after three batches...

Recently bought: Tracy & Hepburn the Definitive Coll., The Mountain, Rope of Sand, Taxi Driver (BD), Heroes of Telemark, Night of the GeneralsPre-Order: Knock on Any Door, The Outlaw Josey Wales (BD), The Man Who Would Be King (BD), Night Flight, The Hustler (BD)...My Collection

Curios to see, whether their ongoing Backlot Series will be continued or stopped after three batches...

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I certainly wouldn't know the answer, but if they feel it's necessary to dump Universal Horror into this program, albeit lower tier Universal Horror, then all bets are off. I mean, talk about something that has a built-in audience. I'm sure there will still be the occasional release along with tie-in stuff to take advantage of existing marketing, but classic horror tells me a lot.

So many films, so little time...Film Journal BlogLt. Col. Thursday: Beaufort; no preliminary nonsense with him, no ceremonial phrasing. Straight from the shoulder as I tell you, do you hear me? They're recalcitrant swine and they must feel it...

At least, Universal and TCM are writing about restauration and extras and the price for the Horror set is not too absurd but the death of pressed classics seems to be imminent.

Recently bought: Tracy & Hepburn the Definitive Coll., The Mountain, Rope of Sand, Taxi Driver (BD), Heroes of Telemark, Night of the GeneralsPre-Order: Knock on Any Door, The Outlaw Josey Wales (BD), The Man Who Would Be King (BD), Night Flight, The Hustler (BD)...My Collection

Such programs are clearly a cash cow for the studios. The more we buy of these kinds of products the more we'll get. Everybody has to make their own decision and, in all good conscience, I cannot lend my support to this type of business model no matter how attractive a given title may be to me.
My money will go to studios that offer proper pressed discs or to releases from other regions.

Does ANYONE here recognize that DVD-R allows us to own films that otherwise would never see the light of day? Nah, I didn't think so. Better to hold your breath 'til you turn blue in the face, and refuse to buy anything that isn't produced to your exact specifications. I've now bought over 100 titles from the Warner Archive Collection, expect to buy from TCM-Universal, and I'm happy as a clam to own these titles. Quitcher bitchin!

Does ANYONE here recognize that DVD-R allows us to own films that otherwise would never see the light of day? Nah, I didn't think so. Better to hold your breath 'til you turn blue in the face, and refuse to buy anything that isn't produced to your exact specifications. I've now bought over 100 titles from the Warner Archive Collection, expect to buy from TCM-Universal, and I'm happy as a clam to own these titles. Quitcher bitchin!

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I'm not bitchin about the fact, that these are DVD-Rs. The thing that makes me start bitching is the point, that the current trend seems to be: push DVD-Rs, abandon pressed discs, even though they (Warner) promised that this won't be the fact, not much is happening on the pressed discs market, though. Right now, it doesn't feel like an addition - as it is marketed - but more like a replacement. That's the thing that makes me go mad.

Recently bought: Tracy & Hepburn the Definitive Coll., The Mountain, Rope of Sand, Taxi Driver (BD), Heroes of Telemark, Night of the GeneralsPre-Order: Knock on Any Door, The Outlaw Josey Wales (BD), The Man Who Would Be King (BD), Night Flight, The Hustler (BD)...My Collection

Does ANYONE here recognize that DVD-R allows us to own films that otherwise would never see the light of day? Nah, I didn't think so. Better to hold your breath 'til you turn blue in the face, and refuse to buy anything that isn't produced to your exact specifications. I've now bought over 100 titles from the Warner Archive Collection, expect to buy from TCM-Universal, and I'm happy as a clam to own these titles. Quitcher bitchin!

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I guess I'll have to remember this particular line of reasoning when they're only offered via download. And then again when they are only offered via digital stream. Oh thank you, benevolent studios!

I will say that, on the surface, I like Universal's version better than Warner's. Remastered titles, special features and bundled pricing right out of the gate. I'm not wild about it, but it isn't quite the massive overall drop that the Archives is.

Does ANYONE here recognize that DVD-R allows us to own films that otherwise would never see the light of day? Nah, I didn't think so. Better to hold your breath 'til you turn blue in the face, and refuse to buy anything that isn't produced to your exact specifications. I've now bought over 100 titles from the Warner Archive Collection, expect to buy from TCM-Universal, and I'm happy as a clam to own these titles. Quitcher bitchin!

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As I said, everybody has to make their own decision; I've made mine and you've clearly made yours.
Since I've already got close to 2000 DVDs resting on my shelves and since Sony are still churning out product, and there's an embarrassment of choice from other regions I don't think I'll be turning blue in the face just yet.

I also intend to continue expressing either my satisfaction or dissatisfaction with any given release/announcement.

I'm not bitchin about the fact, that these are DVD-Rs. The thing that makes me start bitching is the point, that the current trend seems to be: push DVD-Rs, abandon pressed discs, even though they (Warner) promised that this won't be the fact, not much is happening on the pressed discs market, though. Right now, it doesn't feel like an addition - as it is marketed - but more like a replacement. That's the thing that makes me go mad.

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My thoughts exactly. The DVD-R aspects are of minor concern to me. The concern is that we've been sold a bill of goods. "The Archives will not replace pressed discs" .....but to this point this has not been true in the least. It has been a near complete replacement for pressed discs.....at an increased price......with reduced quality transfers....and with virtually no extras.

I am absolutely thrilled! I remember reading here a few months back that another major studio was going to announce a similar MOD program and I had my fingers crossed that it would be Universal. I'm even happier to see one of the first offerings is The Devil and The Deep with Gary Cooper. My copy is very poor and although it is one of my least faves of his, I have to have them all and in the best quality I can find so this will be a major upgrade. I hope they keep more of his early films coming and hopefully some of Clara Bow's talkies as well. Most of my favorite stars were at Paramount in the 20s and 30s and it's just great to know we now have hope of getting good quality copies of their films.

I don't like the fact that things have gone this way, but if it's going to happen then at least it will be good to have some competition amongst the studios so we have a chance to get a better product (restored, remastered, extras, etc.)

The biggest detriment to me isn't DVD-R (although I'd prefer pressed DVD), but rather the high prices for old existing and inadequate transfers that Warners is offering. Either lower the price or improve the product.
We'll have to see what these look like. I do like the idea of Robert Osborne introductions that put the film in context. When I record movies off of TCM I always like to include those when they have them.

Yeah, I don't mind this too much--The most I miss from the pressed discs were the option for subtitles for the hearing impaired. Also, the price for individuals is still too high, but at least most of the releases are being bundled into budget sets.